Foreign Investors Sold US Securities, Equities in December

The US Treasury reported today that foreign investors sold a net $21 billion of long-term US securities in December 2011. In the previous month, foreign investors purchased a net $58 billion in long-term US securities. Foreign investors were also net…

Published February 15, 2012, 11:16am ET · 1 min read

The US Treasury reported today that foreign investors sold a net $21 billion of long-term US securities in December 2011. In the previous month, foreign investors purchased a net $58 billion in long-term US securities.

Foreign investors were also net sellers of US Treasuries, agency bonds, corporate bonds, and equities in the month. Direct Chinese purchases of US assets totaled $31.9 billion in December. The total amount of China’s purchases is unknown because the country often trades through third parties in other countries.

The Department of the Treasury report is here.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Paul Ausick

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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